Chapter 12
Anne frowned heavily as she swiped the tears from her eyes, Henry was such an ass. Anne started for her house when she spotted something sitting among the lilac bushes or more specifically on top. Slowly she approached it looking around for its owner before she pulled Lizzie from the bush gently and smiled down at the blue bear. She completely missed Anna and Kitty who were leaning out of their bedroom windows to high five.
"What are you doing out here?" She muttered brushing her thumb over the patch on its head. Anne was torn, did she return this to Cathy? They weren't exactly on speaking terms, it was three in the morning.
"Cathy, what's the matter?" The six-year-old scooted closer to her friend, reaching out to gently grab her hand through the fence. At first, the curly-haired girl just shook her head refusing to look up, but Anne persisted. "Cathy, why are you sad?" She whispered fondly as she gave Cathy's hand a gentle squeeze, Anne bounced in place anxiously waiting for a response. After a few minutes of silence, despite Cathy's crying, Cathy looked up at her best friend, her lips trembling and face flushed with tears.
"I...I...I t-tore Lizzie...Anne, I am...awful…I hurt her" she sobbed hiccuping hysterically
Anne smiled sadly as a few tears of a different kind escaped her eyes. She glanced around herself before bringing the stuffed creature to her face and inhaled the sweet scent that was Cathy. Slowly the slightly intoxicated Anne stumbled around the fence and slowly approached Cathy's bedroom window. She carefully tapped the window a few times until a light clicked on and Cathy jerked her window open in a half-asleep daze.
"Anne?" She slurred in confusion and without a word Anne placed the beloved bear into Cathy's hands and walked away. Anna cringed shaking her head and Kitty pouted.
"Time for phase two!" She whispered and Anna nodded watching as Cathy started after Anne curiously before pulling her bear close and ducking inside.
Cathy was rewriting her thesis statement for her essay, which she'd proofread and edited at least twelve times, but she was trying to keep her mind off of her life, more honestly off of Anne.
"No." She snapped and Cathy frowned sitting her bear in her lap and crossing her arms.
"Why not?" She probed scooting slightly closer. Anne shook her head sighing slightly.
"Cause my mommy is mean," Anne complained flopping dramatically backward onto the grass. "And she only loves my baby sister Kitty." She whispered dejectedly as she pouted up at the bush. Cathy scooting up against the fence reaching between the wire to place her hand on Anne's.
"Well I love you, Anne," she said with childlike respect and Anne smiled brightly as she sat up facing her newfound friend.
"Really, you mean it?" She asked ecstatically, and Cathy nodded seriously.
"You're my new best friend." She proclaimed merrily and Anne beams.
"Friends forever. " She confirms making Cathy smile as they lock pinkies.
"God I'm such a screw-up." Cathy grumbled as she rubbed her eyes sleepily and glanced at the clock, it was nearly four in the morning. Cathy reached for her jar of pencils, miscalculating how far away it was, she ended up knocking the jar off her desk. Pitifully she watched as it rolled under her bed. She didn't know that Anna had placed something there purposefully. So when Cathy reached in to grab her pens she pulled out a turquoise colored ball, not just any ball, but the ball her and Anne played with all year round when they were seven. Cathy could've sworn it was in Anne's garage or so she thought. God she wished she could take that day back. She'd give anything to just be able to take it back. The other night was the first time she'd actually made eye contact with Anne in almost a year.
Anne frowned when she got home from school she saw her sister watching old home videos of her and Cathy from when they were either five or six.
'Fear not princess for I will save you!' Little Cathy proclaimed raising her empty Christmas paper roll, her makeshift sword, to Anna, who was pretending to be some sort of monster. Anne was sitting on the park slide waving a Kleenex, trying to look like a damsel.
"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Anna chortled before they fake fought and Cathy climbed up the slide to Anne.
"My hero!" Anne smiled dopey like before kissing Cathy's cheek and making Cathy giggle and fall back down the slide.
"I'll always save you, Annie!" The little girl proclaimed brightly.
"Turn it off Kitty," Anne growled lowly and Kitty looked up at her dryly and shook her head before she skipped to the next video. She smiled slightly to herself when Anne lowered herself into the seat next to her sister. Kitty subtly sent Anna a thumbs up text.
"Cathy and Anne here! We are making ninja turtle cookies!" Nine-year-old Anne smiled at the camera.
"With Jane's help." Catherine Aragon chuckled from behind the camera. Before Jane, herself came into focus and waved.
"Yes, remember it's always important to have adult supervision when cooking. " she encouraged.
"Mommy this isn't a safety video!" Anne whined.
Cathy frowned when she saw her sister watching ninja turtles for the third day in a row. It was getting irritating because every time Cathy saw or heard it, the damned show reminded her of Anne. It's not like Anna was watching it at low volume, no Anna was basically blasting the show. Growling under her breath she stormed in front of the telly and shot her big sister a glare.
"Move shrimp I'm trying to watch the show," Anna complained tossing a throw pillow at her sister making Cathy sigh heavily but move to the spot next to Anna.
"Why do you keep watching this show? You used to always tell Anne and me about how dumb it was and how you hated it." Cathy huffed glaring at her bored-looking sister.
"Heh remember when you and Anne first saw this episode, you both thought the brain aliens-"
"The Krang." Cathy corrected making Anna rolled her eyes at her little sister's nerdiness.
"Yeah whatever anyway, remember how you thought they were real and so you wouldn't sleep and kept jumping at the smallest sound, you hit mama with a spatula when she came into the kitchen to find you?" Anna chortled and felt triumphant when Cathy smiled slightly.
"I remember Anne stayed up all night with me because I was scared," Cathy whispered softly and Anna texted Kitty a thumbs up and smirk emoji as Cathy snuggled up next to her sister and watched the show.
"You damned witch!" Henry screamed right in Anne's face in the middle of the hallway and she flinched backing away from him. It was after school basically so everyone was making their way out of the school, most barely even gave the feuding couple a second glance. As Henry continued to berate Anne, calling her a bitch and a witch, Anne grew irritated. All she had done was say hi to Thomas, it's not as if she made out with him or something. Unlike henry the hypocritical bastard who'd been seeing like three women behind her back. So Anne just snapped.
"Mate just shut up! I wouldn't be such a bitch if you could get it up!" She snapped back harshly and rather smugly before she could properly register what had happened her face collided with the lockers hard.
Cathy had been standing across the hallway silently watching Henry and Anne's exchange feeling sour inside. She didn't like how he was talking to her ex-best friend and she kept glancing their way as she put her textbooks away and debated whether she should step in. Then he shoved her, slapped Anne's lithe form right into the lockers, more accurately he slammed her head into the lockers.
"Don't tell me to shut up you God damn witch!" He growled and a familiar sensation overcame Cathy as she saw Anne whimper clutching her head, blood tainting her finger when she pulled her hand back. Then she nodded fearfully and Cathy saw red.
"Bet you're sorry now huh witch?!" He mocked kicking her shoe, making Anne whimper slightly as she clenched her jaw and tried to glare at him. Then in a flash, Cathy had knocked him to the ground. Anne's eyes widened in shock as Cathy began to blindly punch him.
"You mean awful boy! Don't you hurt Anne!" She screamed delivering a punch with each word. "You're gonna be the sorry one!" She exclaimed as Henry screamed for mercy.
"HEY!" Her voice carried across the semi-crowded hallway, Henry turned from Anne to regard Cathy dully. Granted Cathy hadn't grown much since she was that small seven-year-old being only five foot three and Henry was at least six feet tall or more, but no matter what, even though her and Anne weren't talking, nobody was allowed to hurt her. "What's your bloody problem mate?!" She demanded her voice so sharp it made some of Henry's buddies who had been approaching stop and retreat back a couple of steps. Anne was eyeing Cathy with an unreadable look. Anna was leaning against the lockers across the hall watching in case she needed to intervene.
"It's none of your damn business," Henry growled stepping up to tower his large stature over Cathy. However, if it intimidated her in any way she gave no indication of it, she just crossed her arms and looked up at him murderously.
"You're in a public hallway jackass I believe you've made it everyone's business." She hissed dangerously. He chewed his bottom lip as if remembering when little seven-year-old Cathy took his ten-year-old self down and beat him up badly.
"Look Anne's my girlfriend so bugger off !!!" He snapped shoving Cathy slightly. Anna straightened ready to attack if he touched her sister again.
"It's fine Cathy, Henry's just temperamental sometimes," Anne whispered gently stepping between them as she held a hand against her bleeding head. At Anne making excuses for that abusive ass, Cathy lost whatever control she had left on her temper. Cathy didn't really recall punching him but suddenly her hand stung and Henry was on the ground clutching his eye up against the lockers.
"How do you like getting hit asshole?" She spits as he looks up at her as if questioning how she hit him so hard. His friends were snickering at his expense. Anne's eyes were wide and Anna was amused but ready in case Henry got his second wind. Cathy didn't ever want him to touch Anne again, he didn't deserve Anne. So with adrenaline pumping through her she brought her boot against his neck.
"The hell you Ach-" he wheezed as she pressed the heel of her boot against his neck choking him.
"Listen closely to what I'm about to tell you Henry Eighton.." she hissed leaning low to meet his eyes. "If you touch Anne again you'll bloody regret it." She growled dangerously and Henry glared at her. "Do you understand?" She hissed and when he didn't answer fast enough added pressure on his neck making him cry out.
"Alright damn, I get it!" He exclaimed and Cathy stepped back with a heated glare Henry slowly stood glaring at the shorter girl.
"You'll regret talking to me that way bitch." He rasped darkly, his throat sore from Cathy's boot. Cathy just glared back at him unfazed, suddenly Anna was behind her.
"I dare you to follow through with your threat, see how far it gets you dick-brain!" Anna hissed dangerously and he knew Anna could very well beat him to a bloody pulp, so with a huff he turned on his heel and stormed away.
"C-Cathy.." Anne whimpered and Cathy frowned seeing that Anne's eye was starting to swell and her head was still bleeding. Carefully Cathy approached her, brushing a wayward strand of Anne's hair behind her ear as she bit her lip nervously.
"I'm so sorry Annie, I...I was such a jerk and I…" tears blurred her vision and Anne stumbled forward wrapping her arms around her protector.
"We were both jerks, and stubborn. I'm sorry too." She mumbled swaying slightly as she rested her head against Cathy's shoulder, holding her close.
"I've missed you so much!" Cathy exclaimed and Anne smiled slightly.
"ANNE!" Cathy exclaimed rushing around the lilac bush as she tackled the brunette girl into a tight hug.
"I've missed you so much, Cathy!" Anne sniffed and Cathy tightened her hold on her friend.
"I missed you more!" She whispered against Anne's shoulder.
"I've missed you more," Anne whispered softly. Anna beamed mission accomplished.